


Sharp Shocks and Sudden Stops

by vexbatch



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Angst, Character Death, EVERYTHING HURTS AND NOTHING IS OKAY, Found Family, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Immortal Husbands Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 23:36:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29849235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vexbatch/pseuds/vexbatch
Summary: It had been a simple mission. Sometimes the simplest have the worst complications.
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Comments: 5
Kudos: 44





	Sharp Shocks and Sudden Stops

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Restricted Work] by [cinagray](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cinagray/pseuds/cinagray). Log in to view. 



> I didn't mean the first thing I wrote for this fandom to be so sad. But with [cinagray's](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cinagray/pseuds/cinagray) lovely prompt, how could I resist?

It had been a simple mission. 

In and out, destroy some leftover samples from the catastrophe that had been Merrick Pharmaceuticals, and steal some hard drives on the way, if they didn’t just put a bullet in them first. 

It was Nile’s first entry as point, because after they’d regrouped, Joe had taken Nile’s side in the argument and convinced Andy that there was no harm in standing down, just a little.

Security had been a breeze, they’d managed to torch the samples and even grab the hard drives, but on the way out….

There had been an extra security guard. Apparently someone had been training, so they’d counted twelve, but the thirteenth guard had been on their rounds and….

_ Bang. _

_ Thump-thump. _

Nile had shot back first before glancing behind, seeing  _ both _ Nicky and Joe slumped on the ground, blood pooling. Andy was pulling at Nicky, so Nile mirrored her, hefting Joe onto her shoulder as Andy lifted Nicky, wanting to leave before they woke, before anything else could go sideways.

Except it already had. 

They hit the stairwell before Andy mumbled, “should be back by now.”

They hit the car before Nile started worrying along the same line of thought.

But they had to go, they had to get out, no time to check why Joe and Nicky hadn’t come back, no time, no  _ time…. _

It wasn’t until they were twenty miles down the road that Andy’s panicked glances had Nile worried enough that she tugged the older woman’s sleeve, nodding to the side of the road. Nothing but fields around, Andy pulled off into the grass. 

They just stayed there for a moment, frozen. Nile could see Andy’s eyes flicking to the rearview mirror, could see how carefully she was holding herself. Nile took a deep breath, steeling herself. It certainly wasn’t the first time she would have to check to make sure that her friends were….well. 

But this was different.

They were supposed to be  _ immortal, _ dammit. Or near enough.

They had been figuring out a way around Andromache’s position; Nicky had already started researching and planning for different things he could cook, and Joe had been researching with Nile, and….

Nile unbuckled, trying to ignore the stench of blood that had begun to permeate the car. The door unlatched with a mighty  _ creeeeaaak, _ altogether too ominous under the circumstances, and Nile stepped out into the bright day. It was positively idyllic, a little bit of countryside so close to the city, but they didn’t have time for that right now. 

Turning back to the car, Nile closed her eyes briefly at the sight of Nicky and Joe, slumped against each other where Andy and Nile had put them, so that when they came back, they’d be close. Close enough for Joe to check over Nicky, and Nicky to give him one of those little head bonks, but….

Nile shoved that thought away before it could form, opening the backdoor and leaning in, finding Nicky’s pulse point. 

She waited.

And waited.

Andy’s gaze was like a weight against her, but Nile just closed her eyes as she could feel tears forming, waiting and waiting and  _ waiting– _

Like she had for her dad.

Like she had for Chrissie, who had been the first to die after they’d shipped out.

Like she had, that first night they knew Andy had become mortal again, waiting to make sure she would wake up that next morning. 

“Nile,” Andy said softly, but Nile just turned away. She took a deep breath, but it sounded oddly panicked to her ears, and when did the grass get so blurry?

They were supposed to be her family. 

She was  _ alone _ except for these fou– three now. 

A hand landed on her shoulder sometime later, and Nile glanced over to see Andy there, face a mask of comfort, but her eyes holding pain. Nile opened her mouth to explain, but nothing came out, just those same panicky breaths, and suddenly Andy was  _ there,  _ holding her tight. Like her mom had done when Nile realized her father really wasn’t coming home. Like her brother had the first time her heart had been broken.

But this was Andy’s family too.

So they stayed there, wrapped in each other and crying. They didn’t say anything; there was no space for words, the grief too large and utterly unholdable. After a while, Nile started to pull away, but Andy’s grip just got tighter, so Nile stayed and held Andy up. 

In a while they would break apart.

Later, they would bury the two men who had loved so fiercely that death could not come between them. Instead, it had first shunned them both, before abruptly turning and swallowing them whole. 

Hours later, Andy and Nile would climb back in the car, driving away and towards their nearest stash of vodka. 

Behind them, brushed by a faint breeze, a series of flowers graced two plots of disturbed soil. 


End file.
